Setting up wifi in large new house

Ran out of edit time.. so please excuse poor grammar and tortuous sentence structure. I am getting old and my fingers don't necessarily type what my brain is thinking.

Happy to help if you need more details on anything.

I did mean to say the advantage of the semi-pro systems vs domestic is their cost is not actually much greater.

I recently upgraded a neighbour I help with their networking to TP-Link Omada system.. The cost for 3xWAPs and controller was around $350US ($500Aus here). That is cheaper than most mid tier and up mesh systems with far better controls. His existing Asus router is still good enough but when it fails I would also replace it with Omada router and possibly even the switch they also sell.

I could have used a cheap end mesh system like TP-Link Deco M5 which work well with ethernet backhaul. Big fat ugly BUTT.. They require you to sign up to cloud controller sited where.. china?? and all your data and info is available to the CCP wherever you are. Better sticking to the devil you know.. NSA who does the same thing!! The business orientated Omada system is all on site. You can sign up and use cloud access if you wish but for sure I don't wish. Ubiquiti is same.. and note their cloud access server was hacked so anytime you share info to cloud be rigorous in security updates and changing passwords when advised.

So basically I just get three mesh network routers that support an ethernet backbone, connect them to the ISP router via Ethernet (or to each other, and only the first to the ISP router?) and then I have one big network throughout the house?

Correct. And what you are proposing is the simplest and cheapest solution (apart from cheapest mesh using wireless backhaul only which give poor performance in a large house).

One big network is crucial to this working properly so you can walk around the house with your iPhone or iPad and stay connected. Each AP will handoff to the next one as signal drops off and signal from the nearest AP increases. At least in a perfect world that would happen.

Sidebar.

Getting handoff to work in real world is typical wireless technology.. sometimes brilliant, sometimes terrible. There's currently still a need for a voodoo priestess with lots of beads and rattles to placate the gods of the ether(net) who requires sacrifices of chicken livers to allow wifi to work. (wifi being a voodoo black art still)

That is why you want everything wired that can possibly be wired.. it is a mature technology. Not dependent on voodoo.

Apple sell one system in their stores, Linksys Velop, which has a review in Dong. (apple name it differently? to charge more??)

I think it is this one but do double check.

https://dongknows.com/linksys-velop-mx4200-ax4200-mesh-router-review/

All after sales support is from Linksys.. so buy from cheapest supplier and note they do have inbuilt setup which is hidden from average user.

https://dongknows.com/web-interface-vs-mobile-app/

Bad news about Time Capsule if you say it's that unreliable.

Again just for clarity.. Time Capsule is the old hardware router made by Apple up to 2018. It does not support SMB3 which is required now for security on all Mac, PC and mobile devices.

Time Machine (often confused with Time Capsule) is the backup software built into every Mac since Lion.

I have long recommended here people switch to Carbon Copy Cloner. It is reliable, inexpensive, and one license covers all the computers in your household.

Note: I have no pecuniary interest, no links to any seller and pay for license like everyone else.

Did I understand correctly that adding a HDD to a router usually does not work well, but the RT2600AC is one of the few that does work ok?

Yes, that is correct. The RT2600AC is fairly old now and still sells for well above better spec AX routers. It is not a good buy, and I wish Synology would refresh their product lineup. Or announce clearly it has scrapped the whole idea of selling routers.

The issue is mixing things up.

You mentioned in your first post using the ISP router.. that is fine as long as the mesh system you buy does NOT need to take over as main router. Not sure with the velop system so that is something else to check. Otherwise you are better buying a modem only and using your own router. The best way is to use the Velop since it then controls both the network and internet connection. The more you stick to one product from one brand the less issues you will have. (Unless you have Cisco certification!!)

Velop does support plugging in a hard drive and using it for storage.. purely for PC systems. It is useless for Mac backups. And is very likely SMB1 which is main vector used by ransomware.. just saying it is NOT something you want.

Sidebar

The Synology RT2600AC uses SMB2 but Apple computers as well as iOS require SMB3.

Backups do work but only by using AFP protocol which Apple is expected to drop soon. It is already deprecated.

All Synology NAS support SMB3 even base model which sells for about the same as the RT2600AC.. is far superior and will last several routers. Plus you can use it to copy files to and from iOS devices.

It is simple to plug any NAS by short ethernet patch cable into whatever main router you use or network switch.

So in the long run Synology NAS is the way to go.. whatever you buy as network routers and WAP.

probably two base stations per floor, times three floors

Only possible if you are the sultan of Brunei and live in a 1000 room palace.

Not important but Apple terminology is unique to Apple.. so what you are looking for is a system with one main router, a gigabit or faster network switch and Wireless Access Points (WAP) or sometimes called nodes in mesh systems.

Using more than 3 WAPs even in a very large house would be unusual. There are simply not enough wireless channels available. I have a long double storey with lots of steel and brick.. and I would perhaps get away with 4.. but it is only due to construction methods used. You can use more but that would only be where you carefully control wifi signal strength on each WAP to limit range.

• Ethernet cables to different floors to connect different base stations to the internet? (But still extending the same network, or making different networks like "wifi ground level", "wifi bedrooms",...?)

This!! With knobs on it. Ethernet is the only reliable way to setup a large house. (reliable meaning more than 3 years).

In fact wire everything that doesn't move.. ie TV, media players, security cams, door and access controls. IoT (internet of things) is big these days. Plan for it even if you don't install everything.. infrastructure cabling in the walls is simple and easy during building construction. Ethernet cable is cheap. Very hard and can be expensive to add post construction.

From there you build out the system at whatever grade you wish if you choose the equipment appropriately.

Normal domestic grade Mesh systems come in different types. Some are designed to use ethernet backbone. Some are only suitable for wifi backhaul and the nodes don't even come with ethernet ports.. eg the latest Google Mesh.

Read reviews of mesh systems yourself as there is a wide range of products available. See links below.

If you have the money, don't do it with wimpy domestic grade WAPs. Use what is called semi-pro or SMB level products like Ubiquiti Unifi products (or TP-Link Omada which is a cheaper copy but a little easier to DIY). If possible get in someone to plan it properly and install it for you. They require a better than average understanding of networking.

They use ceiling or wall mounted access points for the most part, which means planning carefully where cables are run during the construction of the building. They offer far better reliability and central control.

• Can we just add a HDD to one of the base stations to get something equivalent to Time Capsule? Or do we need some kind of specialized product? Preferably so we can just set up Time Machine on each laptop and never worry about it afterwards.

For most part NO.. you need a specialised product. Our usual recommend is a Synology NAS. You don't need the top model by any means.. the cheapest entry level product will work fine. I do recommend buying a 2 bay at least, as it gives more flexibility.. but a single large disk, 8-12TB is fine to start with.

Hard disks added to routers seldom work 100%.. and I have tried. The best is unsurprisingly a Synology router RT2600AC. The issue is no further up to date products have been forthcoming. I suspect Synology to drop the whole router line just like Apple did with theirs.

Time Machine even is much more problematic in Big Sur and major issue with early release of Monterey so don't be surprised. Apple is has its head in the clouds.. and so iCloud is likely the eventual aim. But Time Machine at this point is really only reliable on locally connected drives.

My favourite review site is Dong at the moment.

Start here.

https://dongknows.com/best-wi-fi-6-mesh-systems/

His site is jammed packed full of useful info.. most of which I agree with!!